Mac & Cheese

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's page. We loved it, but a friend of mine made it and said it was only so-so. Not sure why that is.

I will give you tips on mac & cheese though. First, you MUST use good cheddar (not Kraft, buy the good stuff out of the deli case) and you MUST grate it yourself (bagged cheese will not work). Second, the roux has to be completely cooked or you will end up with grainy cheese, not a smooth one. Also DO NOT use lowfat cheese. If you need to use lowfat cheese, then this is not the recipe for you. I did use the whole milk that she suggested. I figure with things like this, we don't eat them all the time, so a little extra fat isn't going to kill us.

This is really best straight out of the oven. Leftovers are ok, but not as good as when it's first cooked. This makes A LOT, so make it for a big group (unless you are married to a mac & cheese loving man named Dave--haha!).

Macaroni & Cheese from the Pioneer Woman

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4 cups dried macaroni
1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 4 tablespoons) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired)
1 egg, beaten
1 pound cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
*Optional spices: cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme


Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.
In a small bowl, beat egg.
In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
Add in cheese and stir to melt. Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT. Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.

Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Barefoot Contessa's White Pizza With Arugula

The other night, I decided to try my hand at making homemade pizza (much to my son's delight). It took a little bit of time and effort, but it was fun to make them with Nathaniel. The only problem now is that Nathaniel doesn't feel that other pizzas are up to par to eat anymore and it looks like I'll be making more pizzas in the future. This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe from her newest cookbook that I purchased a few weeks back. She uses a garlic oil instead of red sauce and 3 different kinds of cheese for the pizza, then she tops it with arugula with a lemon vinaigrette. It's a perfect pizza!

White Pizza With Arugula

Tonight's Dinner

I went to TJ Maxx today and ended up finding some cute Italian plates, so that I would finally have some color for my pictures on the blog. The first course that I made tonight was one of Jayni's recipes from last night. I love this simple salad and it's a great way to enjoy your tomatoes.

Jayni's Avocado, Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

2 avocados, peeled and pitted, then cut into 1/2 inch dice
12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (I used my baby Roma tomatoes and cut them up into smaller chunks)
8 oz small fresh mozzarella balls, sliced in half (use as many as desired)
extra-virgin olive oil
1 large lemon
salt and black pepper, to taste

Divide the avocado, tomatoes and mozzarella among four large salad plates. Arrange as desired. Drizzle olive oil over each salad. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze over the salads, to taste. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

I had a 3 lb chuck roast sitting in my fridge that needed to be eaten. Not having any potatoes in the house, I decided that I needed to figure out something beside just throwing the roast in a crock pot and calling it good. I found a recipe for Italian beef on cooks.com. Italian beef sandwiches are extremely popular in Chicago (where I ate one for the first time a couple of visits before) and I love the fact that this recipe is super easy (perfect for those lazy, cold winter weekends that will be coming up). My boys love spicier food, so next time, I'll be adding some extra heat to the beef. Other than that, they loved it!

Emeril's Pizzazy Pizza Sandwiches

A few years ago, I decided to pick up a couple of children's cookbooks for Nathaniel to help spark an interest in cooking at an early age. My boy loves to eat, so I figured that he might like to pick up cooking as a hobby. It's been a slow process, but he is starting to enjoy helping me in the kitchen (which will hopefully result in a future college student who does not eat mac & cheese and ramen all the time).

One of our favorite quick meals is this simple recipe that is an easy way to include your children in the food preparation. Add a salad or some veggies on the side and you have dinner on the table in no time. I have even made extra pizzas for after-school snacks for the next day. Just reheat in a toaster oven till the cheese is melted again. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can adjust your cheese to taste (we don't usually use so much cheese and usually don't have both kinds on hand) plus you can add all kinds of toppings.

Pizzazy Pizza Sandwiches adapted from Emeril Lagasse's There's a Chef in My Family! cookbook

1 1/4 cups coarsely grated provolone cheese
1 1/4 cups coarsely grated mozzarella cheese
1 French baguette
1/2 cup Tomato Sauce (we add some Baby Bam to the sauce, to taste)
1/4 teas Baby Bam (recipe to follow)
1/4 cup pepperoni slices
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
crushed red pepper (optional)

Baby Bam recipe
yields about 3/4 cup
3 tbs paprika
1 tbs salt
2 tbs dried parsley
2 teas onion powder
2 teas garlic powder
1 teas ground black pepper
1 teas dried oregano
1 teas dried basil
1 teas dried thyme
1/2 teas celery salt

Place all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stir well to combine. You may add cayenne pepper to this mix, add 1/4 teas at a time until desired spiciness. Store this in airtight container. You can use this for all kinds of items like burgers, pizza, sauces and soup.
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1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2) Combine the provolone and mozzarella cheeses in a small bowl.

3) Carefully cut the baguette into four 5-inch long sections.

4) Cut off top third of the bread horizontally (and reserve top to make bread crumbs). Using your fingers, gently scoop out and discard some of the soft, inner part of the bread, leaving a one-inch shell.

5) Spread the tomato sauce evenly among the bread shells, about 2 tbs for each sandwich and sprinkle with Baby Bam. Divide 2 cups of cheese mixture among the 4 sandwiches and arrange the pepperoni slices evenly on top.

6) Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake until the filling is heated through 15-20 minutes.

7) Using oven mitts or pot holders, remove the baking sheet from the oven, sprinkle the sandwiches evenly with the remaining cheese mixture, and return to oven. Bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

8) Using oven mitts or pot holders, remove the baking sheet from the oven and sprinkle each sandwich evenly with some of the Parmesan cheese. If you like, you can sprinkle with crushed red pepper for a spicy Pizzazy Pizza Sandwich.